Ductless air distribution system

ABSTRACT

A device which acting in combination with the air conditioning unit of refrigerated vehicles propels the cooled air along one surface of the vehicle for circulation throughout the vehicle&#39;&#39;s interior. A portion of the device&#39;&#39;s base is slanted downward to form an inlet orifice which is larger than the exit orifice. Vanes interposing the top surface and base act in conjunction with flared side walls to direct the air flow.

United States Patent 1 1 Dostal et al.

[ DUCTLESS AIR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM Ap pl. No.: 457,990

[451 Apr. 29, 1975 1780.923 2/l957 Jones 62/78 3.l8(l.403 4/1965 Brccn62/97 3.786.652 1/1974 Bolynnm. 62/8 3.792.595 2/l974 Willis 62/4143.805.544 4/1974 Stromhlad .t 62/4I3 Primary [Slammer-William J. WyeAttorney. Agent, or Firm-Alter and Weiss {57] ABSTRACT A device whichacting in combination with the air [52 US. Cl. 62/89; 62/97; 62/407:

3; g 2 93/9; 93/30 conditioning unit of refrigerated vehicles propelsthe [5] 1 Int. Cl. F25d 17/06 moled air along one surface 0f "ehlcle forcircula- 5g Fie|d f Search 63/89 7 7 3 tion throughout the vehicle'sinterior. A portion of the 63/411 416 M9. 41 93/9 30 device's base isslanted downward to form an inlet ori free which is larger thanthe exitorifice. Vanes inter- 5 References cu posing the top surface and baseact in conjunction UNITED STATES PATENTS with flared side walls todirect the air flow. 173L807 H1956 Allync 62/89 9 m 9 Drawing Figures 42 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\%AL\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ A i 5 ,6 z t a x it E *4 4|- 5 J l M I iii" wnimaza SHEET 2 BF 2 DUCTLESS AIR DISTRIBUTIONSYSTEM This invention relates to a ductless air distribution system forrefrigerated vehicles. and more particularly. to one in which a rigiddevice acting in combination with the system is capable of circulatingthe cooled air along one surface of the vehicle without any supportingrigid or pliable duct work.

Heretofore. cooled air has been distributed throughout refrigeratedvehicles by use of ducts integrally connected to the air conditioningunit and extending to various points within the vehicle. Not only doessuch duct work occupy valuable space and obstruct the movement of goods;but. moreover. it is-commonly constructed of canvass to which dirt anddust adhere. Therefore. one must incur the continuous expense ofcleaning the canvass duct work if sanitary conditions within the vehicleare to be maintained.

There are other disadvantages inherent in this conventional type ofdistribution system. One has been that the air conditioning unit itselfis the only source of power to propel the cooled air throughout the ductwork. To adequately cool the vehicle a more powerful and expensive unitmust be used than that which could be employed if an independent sourceof power was integrated into the system.

Another disadvantage is that the air from within the vehicle cannot bemixed with the cooled air while inside the canvass ducts. This is due tothe structure of a conventional cylindrical duct.

Futher. since the ducts are tightly mounted to the air conditioningunits evaporator. mixing of outside air with cooled air is precluded. Itis therefore the primary object of this invention to provide a new andimproved device for the circulation of air cooled in the airconditioning unit of refrigerated vehicles which is economical toinstall and maintain. More particularly. an object is to provide adevice which propels the cooled air along one surface of the vehicle forcirculation throughout the interior of the vehicle without the use ofsupporting duct work. In this connection the object is to provide adevice which increases the velocity of air which is received anddischarges the air in directional streams.

Yet another object is to provide a device which mixes the cooled airwith air from outside the device before the air is discharged andcirculated.

In keeping with one aspect of the invention. the foregoing and otherobjects are accomplished by providing a device which is easily andinexpensively installed for use with the conventional air conditioningdistribution system of refrigerated vehicles. The device is positionedso that the air is first propelled along one surface of the vehicle andthen circulated throughout the entire interior. Movement of air throughthe device creates a Venturi action which enables a mixing of air withinthe device and an increase in the velocity upon discharge. The device'srigid construction with a smooth exterior finish facilitates a cleaning.thereby minimizing the cost of maintenance.

The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention andthe manner of obtaining them will become more apparent, and theinvention itself will be best understood by reference to the followingdescription of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a top view of a refrigerated vehicle with a conventional airconditioning unit acting in combination with the inventive device;

FIG. 2 is a side view of that which is shown in FIG. I;

FIG.

FIG.

3 is a rear view of the inventive device; 4 is a front view of theinventive device;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the inventive device;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the inventive device through which across-section is taken on a plane passing through line 7-7;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the inventive device taken on aplane passing through line 7-7 of FIG. 6 looking in the direction of thearrows.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the inventive device taken on aplane passing through line 8-8 of FIG. 7 where the rim of the device isa channel looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the inventive device taken on aplane passing through line 9-9 of FIG. 7 where the rim of the device isan angle looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a top and side view of the inventive device used incombination with a conventional air conditioning unit of a refrigeratedvehicle. In greater detail. air distribution unit I5 of refrigeratedvehicle 2 is composed of air conditioning unit 8. plenum l2. andinventive device I4 acting in combination.

Air conditioning unit 8 propels the cooled air to the plenum I2 intodevice I4. There it mixes with air from vehicle interior 4 which hasbeen suctioned into device 14 through air space I0 and the inlet orifice28 before being discharged and circulated as represented at the exitorifice 32 by air flow pattern I6.

The design of device I4 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 enables the mixing tooccur. Top surface 22 and flared side walls 24 combine with slanted baseportion 26 to define inlet orifice 28 (rear view. FIG. 3) and with flatbase portion 30 to define exit orifice 32 (front view. FIG. 4). Sinceinlet orifice 28 is larger than exit orifice 32. pressure drops withindevice I4 and the velocity of the cooled air increases when it is forcedto exit through a smaller orifice than that through which it entered.Venturi action is thereby created within device 14 enabling the mixingof air since pressure is equalized by the intake of air through airspace [0. Further. the cooled air mixture is discharged from device 14at a greater velocity than that at which it entered. thereby increasingthe efficiency of air distribution unit 15.

FIGS. 3 and 4 also show a plurality of vanes 34 which are interposedbetween flat base portion 30 and top surface 22 thereby partitioningexit orifice 32. Acting in combination with flared side walls 24, vanes34 direct the cooled air mixture along the top surface of vehicleinterior 4 thereby enabling the air to circulate along air flow pattern16.

Other features of device 14 which facilitate its use in the refrigeratedvehicles. are shown in FIG. 5. Top surface 22 provides for both holes 36to engage mounting means and apertures 38. The apertures 38 serve aspassageways for various pipes of conventional piping systems. Placementof these features can easily be varied as the design of the vehicledictates.

The construction of device I4 is shown in FIG. 7 which is across-section taken on the plane passing through line 7-7 of FIG. 6.Plywood 42 is a strong and rigid core which is sandwiched between sheetsof fiberglass 44 and 46. The fiberglass outerfacing enhances therigidity and facilitates the cleaning of device 14. The entire device isthen rimmed with channels (FIG. 8) and angles 41 (FIG. 9) of a materialsuch as metal.

While the principles of the invention have been described above inconnection with the specific apparatus and applications. it is to beunderstood that this description is made only by way of example andtherefore it should be understood that modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

We claim:

I. A device for circulating air cooled in an air conditioning unit of arefrigerated vehicle that is adapted for cooperation with one surface ofthe vehicle to propel the air along that one surface for communicationwith the entire interior of the vehicle comprising:

a housing adapted for mounting in the vehicle having an inlet orificeproximately located to cooperate with said air conditioning unit; and

an exit orifice with a plurality of vanes which cooperate with saidhousing to distribute the air along one surface;

whereby cooled air flowing along said surface is caused to circulatethrough all portions of the vehicles interior without the aid of a duct.

2. A device as defined in claim I, having a pair of flared sidewallsthat cooperate with said vanes to propel the air along the one surface.

3. A device as defined in claim I, wherein said inlet orifice is largerthan said exit orifice whereby movement of air through said devicecauses a Venturi action thereby increasing the airs velocity whilesimultaneously creating a suction effect.

4. A device as defined in claim 3, wherein the location of said devicecreates an air space whereby air from the vehicles interior is suctionedinto said device and mixed with the cooled air.

5. A device as defined in claim 3, wherein a base is graduated so as tocooperate with said housing to define said inlet orifice which is largerthan said exit orifice.

6. A device as defined in claim 5, therein the base consists of a flatportion cooperating with said housing to define said exit orifice and aslanted portion cooperating with said housing to define said inletorifice.

7. A device as defined in claim I. having a rigid construction with asmooth outer surface which comprises plywood sandwiched betweenfiberglass and the edges thereof have a metal covering associatedtherewith.

8. A process for circulating air cooled in an air conditioning unit of arefrigerated vehicle by adapting a device for cooperating with onesurface of the vehicle so as to propel the air along that one surfacefor communication with the entire interior of the vehicle comprising thesteps of:

receiving the air through an inlet orifice of said device;

propelling the air through an exit orifice of said device; dropping thepressure within said device by forcing the air to exit through the exitorifice that is smaller than the inlet orifice to increase the airsvelocity;

directing without enclosing the air with the increased velocity alongone surface of said vehicle after the air leaves the exit orifice;

whereby the cooled air flowing along said surface is caused to circulatethrough all portions of the vehicle's interior without the aid of aduct.

9. A process as defined in claim 8, wherein the cooled air is mixed,with air from outside said device before being discharged from saiddevice comprising:

propelling the air through an air space prior to reception through saidinlet orifice;

suctioning air into said device through said air space thereby mixing itwith the cooled air;

whereby air from outside said device is mixed and recirculated with aircooled in said air conditioning unit and discharged at a greatervelocity than that at which it entered.

i 1P i i

1. A device for circulating air cooled in an air conditioning unit of arefrigerated vehicle that is adapted for cooperation with one surface ofthe vehicle to propel the air along that one surface for communicationwith the entire interior of the vehicle comprising: a housing adaptedfor mounting in the vehicle having an inlet orifice proximately locatedto cooperate with said air conditioning unit; and an exit orifice with aplurality of vanes which cooperate with said housing to distribute theair along one surface; whereby cooled air flowing along said surface iscaused to circulate through all portions of the vehicle''s interiorwithout the aid of a duct.
 2. A device as defined in claim 1, having apair of flared sidewalls that cooperate with said vanes to propel theair along the one surface.
 3. A device as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid inlet orifice is larger than said exit orifice whereby movement ofair through said device causes a Venturi action thereby increasing theair''s velocity while simultaneously creating a suction effect.
 4. Adevice as defined in claim 3, wherein the location of said devicecreates an air space whereby air from the vehicle''s interior issuctioned into said device and mixed with the cooled air.
 5. A device asdefined in claim 3, wherein a base is graduated so as to cooperate withsaid housing to define said inlet orifice which is larger than said exitorifice.
 6. A device as defined in claim 5, therein the base consists ofa flat portion cooperating with said housing to define said exit orificeand a slanted portion cooperating with said housing to define said inletorifice.
 7. A device as defined in claim 1, having a rigid constructionwith a smooth outer surface which comprises plywood sandwiched betweenfiberglass and the edges thereof have a metal covering associatedtherewith.
 8. A process for circulating air cooled in an airconditioning unit of a refrigerated vehicle by adapting a device forcooperating with one surface of the vehicle so as to propel the airalong that one surface for communication with the entire interior of thevehicle comprising the steps of: receiving the air through an inletorifice of said device; propelling the air through an exit orifice ofsaid device; dropping the pressure within said device by forcing the airto exit through the exit orifice that is smaller than the inlet orificeto increase the air''s velocity; directing without enclosing the airwith the increased velocity along one surface of said vehicle after theair leaves the exit orifice; whereby the cooled air flowing along saidsurface is caused to circulate through all portions of the vehicle''sinterior without the aid of a duct.
 9. A process as defined in claim 8,wherein the cooled air is mixed with air from outside said device beforebeing discharged from said device comprising: propelling the air throughan air space prior to reception through said inlet orifice; suctioningair into said device through said air space thereby mixing it with thecooled air; whereby air from outside said device is mixed andrecirculated with air cooled in said air conditioning unit anddischarged at a greater velocity than that at which it entered.